Doesn't Need To Shine
by Ven Ceinza
Summary: I finally discovered that Second Person stories aren't permitted, yet for some reason I don't care... Huh. Reader x Zelgius / Black Knight. Oneshot. You find yourself alone with the Begnion general on a calm night, not expecting anything about to happen..


**Zelgius/The Black Knight from Fire Emblem Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. Of course it's Fire Emblem!**

**I do not own Fire Emblem. Nor will I ever. I also do not own you. Because second person works weird that way.**

**Review? Because I SERIOUSLY need the feedback.**

The Black Knight- a figure of mystery, darkness, and intrigue. He was the man who killed Gawain- leader of the Greil Mercenaries and the father to Ike and Mist. His black armor was blessed by the goddess. His sword was stronger than that of the average man. His identity went unknown to all but his master.

But something about this idea intrigued you. Something about the idea of this anonymous man fascinated you in the strangest way. There was always a hint of doubt that he actually existed, but after listening to the stories your friend Ike recited like a poem to you when you had questions, there was no doubt that this manifestation lived. Ike told you of how he witnessed the Black Knight kill his father. Though you did not want to think anything of this killer, the thought always lingered in your mind.

_What if…?_

Those two words floated in your head for hours on end. You constantly wondered, "What if it is someone I know?" "What if it is someone I have heard of?" or your most lively fantasy-driver, "What if I ever meet him?"

The thought of meeting him excited you; despite the consequences it may or may not have. You always wondered. That curiosity would never go away. If you tried to rid yourself of these thoughts, they came back far more prominent than last time. This worried you. Someone you did not know, someone who you may _never _know raised so many questions that you could not answer.

That all changed on the day you awoke when the sky was still dark.

The moon was bright in the sky. You had fallen asleep early the previous day, so it was no surprise you were woken this early. You stepped out of your tent quietly, not waking anyone who was sleeping in nearby quarters. When you were a safe distance from the camp, you began walking at a normal pace and not one of a thief. As you weaved through the forest, guided by nothing but the moon, you realized you had nothing with you to defend yourself in case of a sudden attack. You prayed to the goddess there would not be one.

Eventually, your luminescent guide had come as close as it would. It had leaded you to a clearing. There was a lake, black in the dark of the night. The moon reflected in its waves, creating a somewhat distorted view of the beauty. Surrounding the lake were no trees, just grass. The trees did not start for at least a hundred feet from the water. The sky was clear. No clouds blocked your view of the constellations made in the sky. The stars were so bright and beautiful. You sat down on the damp grass that bothered you none and stared up at the sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice you had never heard said too calmly.

You jumped to your feet, remembering that you did not have your silver sword with you. Instead of making yourself look crazy or on the offense, you attempted to be as collected as was possible. You turned around and looked at the owner of the voice.

His hair was raven black, almost tinted blue. His eyes were a pine green. He wore red armor and a long, dirty-gold cape that flowed outward. There was no sign of any sheath for carrying a weapon with him. You pondered whether he could be a threat. That was when you recognized him.

You had seen him once before. No more than that. He was oddly familiar, but not enough where seeing him was more than a passing glance. You had heard about him though, and all the things he did and how revered he was in Begnion.

"General Zelgius." You nodded stiffly.

He smiled slightly. What was this guy, sneaking up on you unarmed and acting as though he knows you? Some Begnion made absolutely no sense to you, or to anyone for that matter.

"Ah, I see my name precedes me." He sighed. "Though I wish it wouldn't. Life would be so much simpler."

"What do you want, Zelgius? You shouldn't even be here right now," you pointed out, folding your arms.

He began to walk around you closely in a circle. "Please, fine one—as though you have never done anything you were not supposed to. Or have been somewhere you are _not supposed to be_."

He was right. You were supposed to be back at the camp in safety among your weapons and your comrades, but you were not. Your wandering mind had brought you to this clearing, and now you were virtually trapped in the company of a renowned Begnion general. Why did this have to happen? There was something captivating about him that you could not quite place. Nevertheless, you were still uncomfortable in his presence. He had an air of power about him that frightened you.

You snickered. "Where I am supposed to be is my business, not yours, Zelgius."

He shook his head. A smirk crept across his face eerily, but the smirk itself attracted you. Your nomadic mind began to question what could happen here. You began to have sudden delusions flicker through your mind about this man you had just met. Was it you, or did Zelgius and the Black Knight have the same effect on you? Worried, you attempted to take a step out of the invisible circle cage he had drawn around you, but he was too fast. The moment you stepped out, he was in front of you in a nanosecond.

"See, this is where you may or may not be wrong." He was very close to you; almost unnervingly so. You had nothing to protect yourself with incase he turned on you. You had no place to run—the moon gave you directions to this place, but there was no map back to the shelter of camp. "For all I know, you could be exactly who I am looking for. Or perhaps you know something that may be of value to me." You glared at the general. Your face was getting hot. He was going to wreck your evening wholly. "Now the question is… _Who are you?_"

You dared not speak your name. If he got anything out of you, it could break the mercenaries and send things spiraling into havoc. You said nothing, just glared directly into those astonishing green eyes.

"So you want to play quiet then?" he mused. He chuckled. "If you are not going to comply, I have other ways of getting you to talk."

"What makes you so sure I'll say anything worth exploiting?" You sneered. Suddenly your fear was disappearing. It was going away. What was going on? For a brief second you were content and comfortable in Zelgius' company, but then you were feeling daring. The strength bubbled up inside you and you were ready to explode. You took a fearless step closer to him, putting you no more than a foot away from his face.

"What makes _you_ so sure I won't _do _anything worth exploiting?" He had the most evil smirk on his face that you had seen in a long time.

For a short-lived few moments you wanted to kiss him. Why? No reason, but he was really beginning to get to you. There was something in those eyes that drew you closer yet to him until your body was pressed against him. You made it seem more like a challenge than a way to seal the space between.

"I'm not sure. Just sure enough to be able to exploit you in the first place."

He gazed intensely into your eyes. A burning desire gnawed at your insides, begging you to grab him and kiss those lips, just so you would never ask yourself one question. This one question that charred your mind, scalded your hopes, and lit a fire under you to get you going when you needed a rush.

Why waste life asking… _What if? _

You finally admitted, "My name is _____."

Zelgius smiled and reached for one of your tight-fisted hands. He rubbed it gently until you unclenched both of your fists, relaxing. "See," he whispered, cool breath tickling your face. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Your expression slipped to something less nasty and into a soft smile. "No…" You shook your head. Something about this now felt _right_. This aura that Zelgius had may have been dark. There were things you longed to know. He reminded you of your mysterious fantasies about the Black Knight to the point where you nearly considered the idea that Zelgius _was_ the Black Knight.

It was not possible. You scolded your own irrationality.

The Begnion general took his hand that was not preoccupied and gently tucked your hair behind your left ear. His touch was chilled like his breath. This was when you noticed that it was still dark. It was still in the midst of midnight. This knight who was admired by the people of Begnion was admiring you. That fact stunned you, but at the same time it made you happy. It was almost like there was a connection between the two of you. You put your hands on his armored chest and rest your head on his shoulder. He did not move, or shift awkwardly. He just held on to you in a weirdly protective way. He kissed your forehead. This all confused you to the extent that you wanted to cry. You just met this man, and he agitated you. Perhaps it was because he was not so different from your dreams of the Black Knight…

The sound of colliding weapons interrupted your thoughtful moment. Zelgius backed away sharply as if you had burned him. "_____..." His eyes were sad. "I am sorry."

_For what?_

"One day, we will meet again, _____," he promised.

"Wait, what's going on?" You asked him, scared. You did not know what was going on.

"Get out of here, now!" He ordered you to leave. Not wanting to disobey a renowned general, you left.

Or so he thought. You hid among the trees and bushes watching him. A group of soldiers dressed to be members of the Begnion Army approached him.

"Zelgius, where have you been?" One of them asked, oblivious to the fact that he had been in the same area for not too long. "There is a battle in the forest that was unavoidable."

"I have been right here," he told them. "And if it is that bad, why are you not fighting in it?"

"Well..." A shorter one holding a crossbow could not come up with an excuse. "The Greil Mercenaries are on the move. Should we track them and kill them all?" The same one suggested.

Zelgius looked in your direction, as if he knew you were there. The sly smile on his face said he did.

Another soldier chuckled. "Finally we can end their involvement. Just give the command, General."

The group looked at him expectantly. Before you could run off to warn everyone, you heard him disagree.

"But why, Sir?"

"At the present time, they are already at a disadvantage because they are still not yet awake. They are not on the move, as I myself have personally discovered. I do not want to waste fighting power on a pathetic excuse for a team," he explained.

"But, General Zelgius-"

"No buts. You all get out of here now and go join the others," he ordered. "Now."

The small group hurried off to meet up with the larger group. You did not know whether you should walk away now or go up to him and thank him for not letting his men kill her friends. The situation had been so confusing. You barely knew what was going on, but now had a better idea.

"_____," Zelgius looked directly at you. "I have given you your chance to run. Now go before they have a chance to catch up with you guys." He did not have to speak too loudly for you to hear him, since you were merely on the outskirts of the clearing and blended in with the nature.

Your eyes watered. Of course you had not known him long, but for some strange reason you did not want to leave him. That almost pained look on his face brought you sadness. You longed to have more time, but there just was not enough and nothing could be done.

"Thank you," you said barely loud enough for him to hear.

He smiled warmly and gave you a small nod before turning his back to you and walking in the opposite direction towards the eastern part of the forest. His cape flew behind him, waving good-bye with the wind's help.

As he was walking, you caught a glimpse of something behind his back; something was strapped to him, hidden behind the long cloak. It was a sword. It was not just any sword, but a sword you recognized as Alondite from Ike's stories about the sister sword, Ragnell, he used when attempting to kill the Black Knight.

Zelgius wielded the Alondite. The Alondite belonged to the Black Knight.

Your heart pounded in your chest, beating a mile a minute. Your breathing was heavy as you ran back to the camp and warned everyone to get up, pack up, and get moving. The entire time you were helping a practical evacuation, you were in awe.

The same knight you always dreamed about had come to your rescue.

No one ever said their armor had to shine.


End file.
